Introduction
Margaret Dommett spent part of her early adult life as a general domestic servant at Manor Farm, Hardington. Although domestic service was a common occupation for young women of her generation, she came from a relatively prosperous and well-connected farming family in West Dorset. The death of her father in 1916 may have contributed to her entering service, and she later faced further hardship when her husband was killed in a road accident.
Early life
Margaret was born on 14 April 1898 at Broadwindsor, the youngest of two daughters born to William Dommett and his second wife. Mary Esther. She had one full sister, Dorothy, and several half-siblings.
Her father was the tenant of Redlands Farm, which he occupied until his death in 1916. In addition to farming, he played a prominent role in local affairs, serving as a parish councillor, sidesman, school manager, and member of the committee of the Melplash Agricultural Society.¹ When he died, he left a probate estate valued at £3,047 3s 9d.
By 1921, Margaret was working as a general domestic servant for Eddy Turner and his wife, Myra, at Manor Farm, Hardington. She may have entered their service two years earlier when they were living at Manor Farm, West Coker. In April 1919, the couple advertised for someone to assist in the farmhouse, offering good wages for a suitable and willing person, preferably one prepared to help with milking when required.[1] Margaret would have been a plausible candidate. Not only had she been brought up on a farm, but Myra had lived at Burstock before her marriage and may have already have known Margaret. If so, Margaret probably moved with the Turner family to Hardington after Eddy purchased Manor Farm in the estate sale of October 1920.
Coincidentally, thirty years earlier, Margaret’s cousin, Mabel Dauncey, had been employed as a governess at Marsh Farm, Hardington Marsh.
Marriage
In 1922, Margaret married William Ralph Creed in the Beaminster registration district. William was a wheelwright and the son of Thomas Creed of Swillett’s Farm, Seaborough. The couple had two children: William Thomas, born in 1923, and Dorothy Mary, born in 1927.
Tragedy struck in June 1931 when William was killed in a road accident at the age of thirty-five. While travelling to work on his motorcycle through Drimpton, he collided with a five-ton lorry and died from his injuries.[2] He left an estate valued at £561 12s 10d.
The following year, Margaret’s sister, Dorothy, married William John Marsh, whose father, George, took over Redlands Farm in 1917. Dorothy remained at the farm until William’s death in 1953.
Later life
By 1939, Margaret was living in the Square at Broadwindsor with her mother and her two children. Her son William was employed as an assistant dairy chemist, a position that reflected the family’s continuing connection to the agricultural sector.
Margaret died in the Exeter area on 24 December 1978 at the age of 80 and was buried at Broadwindsor. She left an estate valued at £807.
Conclusion
Margaret’s life illustrates both the security and vulnerability of rural family life in the early twentieth century. She was born into a prosperous farming household with strong roots in the local community, but the death of her father and later the accidental death of her husband altered the course of her life. Nevertheless, she remained closely connected to the farming communities of West Dorset throughout her life, and family networks appear to have provided continuity and support during periods of upheaval.
References
[1] Western Gazette, 4 April 1919, p.6.
[2] Western Gazette, 19 June 1931, p.11.